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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
So, the writing is 3 stars (didn't bother me, but didn't stand out as amazing. Let's call it competent). HOWEVER, there were several elements that helped this story stand out from a sea of YA post-apocalyptic stories, and actually feel like something new. So I'm gonna bump it up to 4 stars.
Things I liked:
- Post-apocalyptic story that realistically reflected how people behave (as in, "shit is bad b/c people are doing whatever they have to survive", as opposed to "shit is bad b/c the author made up some completely inexplicable dystopian society just so that shit can be bad and the MC can lead an insurgency against the evil government". So fucking tired of that).
- The Hawaiian setting really does offer a unique angle for a post-apocalyptic, post-tech world, because of the isolation from mainland, the difficulty in traveling between worlds, the dependence on imported food...
- Issues of race. The book addresses both how racial tensions play into a post-apocalyptic scenario, and on a personal level, how the MC struggles with her identity as a mixed-race person
- Main character's efforts/desires to not let her epilepsy limit her, while also being reasonable about her safety (what?! a sensible YA character!?), and simultaneously wanting to be accepted by other teenagers
- Incorporation of Hawaiian stories and prayers added both to the feeling of authenticity and the uniqueness of this particular post-apocalypse story (I use the word feeling b/c I am not native Hawaiian so cannot verify the authenticity).
- Young adult main character struggling through all these perils with her dad! (as opposed to teenagers traveling on their own in a world where adults and teenagers have inexplicably been separated by the-death-of-all-adults/the-development-of-teenage-superpowers/the-machinations-of-an-evil-government/all-the-adults-being-useless-shrinking-violets or some other equally ridiculous plot line. Don't get me wrong, I like a story full of teenagers, but give me a plausible reason they are on their own). Besides that, it's just refreshing to have a YA story with healthy family dynamics, where the main character draws strength from her family bonds. Bonds, plural, as in, the MC has multiple supportive, loving family members.
Also, in this review I have mostly combined the concepts of post-apocalypse and dystopia since they are often use together in novels (like, the apocalypse is often used in a hand-waving fashion as the reason that the inexplicable dystopia developed). However, to clarify, in this case, society if fucked up purely b/c the tech-apocalypse just happened and everyone is trying to survive. There are no elements of a weird new-world-order-type evil government or anything. FYI, just in case, like me, you are especially tired of non-sensical dystopias.
Also, there is a sequel. This book leaves open some interesting plot lines that can carry through into the sequel, but has a satisfying ending on its own. No cliff-hangers or jarring lack of resolution.
Things I liked:
- Post-apocalyptic story that realistically reflected how people behave (as in, "shit is bad b/c people are doing whatever they have to survive", as opposed to "shit is bad b/c the author made up some completely inexplicable dystopian society just so that shit can be bad and the MC can lead an insurgency against the evil government". So fucking tired of that).
- The Hawaiian setting really does offer a unique angle for a post-apocalyptic, post-tech world, because of the isolation from mainland, the difficulty in traveling between worlds, the dependence on imported food...
- Issues of race. The book addresses both how racial tensions play into a post-apocalyptic scenario, and on a personal level, how the MC struggles with her identity as a mixed-race person
- Main character's efforts/desires to not let her epilepsy limit her, while also being reasonable about her safety (what?! a sensible YA character!?), and simultaneously wanting to be accepted by other teenagers
- Incorporation of Hawaiian stories and prayers added both to the feeling of authenticity and the uniqueness of this particular post-apocalypse story (I use the word feeling b/c I am not native Hawaiian so cannot verify the authenticity).
- Young adult main character struggling through all these perils with her dad! (as opposed to teenagers traveling on their own in a world where adults and teenagers have inexplicably been separated by the-death-of-all-adults/the-development-of-teenage-superpowers/the-machinations-of-an-evil-government/all-the-adults-being-useless-shrinking-violets or some other equally ridiculous plot line. Don't get me wrong, I like a story full of teenagers, but give me a plausible reason they are on their own). Besides that, it's just refreshing to have a YA story with healthy family dynamics, where the main character draws strength from her family bonds. Bonds, plural, as in, the MC has multiple supportive, loving family members.
Also, in this review I have mostly combined the concepts of post-apocalypse and dystopia since they are often use together in novels (like, the apocalypse is often used in a hand-waving fashion as the reason that the inexplicable dystopia developed). However, to clarify, in this case, society if fucked up purely b/c the tech-apocalypse just happened and everyone is trying to survive. There are no elements of a weird new-world-order-type evil government or anything. FYI, just in case, like me, you are especially tired of non-sensical dystopias.
Also, there is a sequel. This book leaves open some interesting plot lines that can carry through into the sequel, but has a satisfying ending on its own. No cliff-hangers or jarring lack of resolution.
I'm so weirded out by the turtle thingy. I mean, maybe I'm not just open minded enough but really, an alien turtle absorbing radiation and other bad things. But ok.
I love Leilani's family and how supportive and protective they were of each other though. Leilani and her dad's adventure was also interesting.
I love Leilani's family and how supportive and protective they were of each other though. Leilani and her dad's adventure was also interesting.
In her heart, sixteen-year old Leilani feels like she belongs in Hawaii, but her epilepsy and mixed heritage prevent her from ever fitting in. When she's is invited to participate in a study in an Oahu clinic that may give her more control over her epilepsy, she decides it's worth the risks. But Leilani never gets the chance to try the new treatment - a global disaster strikes, leaving the Hawaiian islands without any connection to the rest of the world. Leilani and her father are stranded on Oahu where resources are quickly being drained and panic is taking hold. Determined to make it back to their home on Hilo, Leilani and her father embark on a dangerous journey in which Hawaiian culture, mythology, and Leilani's epilepsy all play crucial roles.
Austin Aslan's debut had me completely transfixed. It was cinematic, with all the elements that I love about those big apocalyptic movies, like The Day After Tomorrow, but still felt fresh and unique because of the Hawaiian setting and undeniably better world building and detail. Simply put, this book has the fast pacing and crazy what ifs you love about those end-of-the-world movies plus a compelling back story and well developed characters.
One of my favorite aspects of this book was the focus on the father-daughter relationship. The list of notable - or even memorable - literary YA parents is woefully short, so I count every addition as a win. Leilani's father isn't perfect but that just made him more realistic. He makes some interesting parenting choices after things get crazy (which, for the record, I was totally okay with and rather amused by). He and Leilani have a strong relationship built on respect and trust, which I loved.
I highly recommend Aslan's debut and am very much looking forward to seeing what happens next... I have a feeling that the situation has the potential to get a lot more complicated in the next book!
Austin Aslan's debut had me completely transfixed. It was cinematic, with all the elements that I love about those big apocalyptic movies, like The Day After Tomorrow, but still felt fresh and unique because of the Hawaiian setting and undeniably better world building and detail. Simply put, this book has the fast pacing and crazy what ifs you love about those end-of-the-world movies plus a compelling back story and well developed characters.
One of my favorite aspects of this book was the focus on the father-daughter relationship. The list of notable - or even memorable - literary YA parents is woefully short, so I count every addition as a win. Leilani's father isn't perfect but that just made him more realistic. He makes some interesting parenting choices after things get crazy (which, for the record, I was totally okay with and rather amused by). He and Leilani have a strong relationship built on respect and trust, which I loved.
I highly recommend Aslan's debut and am very much looking forward to seeing what happens next... I have a feeling that the situation has the potential to get a lot more complicated in the next book!
A new young adult series, that is pretty good. If you are interested in Hawaii, this book is for you. No love story (yay!).
3.5 stars.
3.5 stars.
This book was lovely and unexpected. A friend recommended it to me (hi, Swati!) and I loved the ways that it subverted some plotlines without losing the fact that it's a marvellous story.
So the first subversion is that the central relationship is not a romantic one, or even a friendship one. It is a relationship between a father a daughter. I loved this so much! LeiLani and her dad do not have a perfect relationship, but they do trust each other unequivocally, and the dynamic that Aslan has written between them is just exquisite. They're jokey sometimes, and comforting, and they lend each other hope, and they would also straight up kill for each other, which is good. They go through a lot together, and they tease each other, and it's just delightful. I love it when children in YA get on well with their parents. This isn't really a quest to save the world (if the world is saved, it's an incidental byproduct) but is instead a mission to reunite as a family.
The second subversion is that this is a dystopia, but not a *normal* dystopia. The subversion comes in two parts: first, the dystopia is not 'oh no we have an unequal and authoritarian society now', but instead an environmental catastrophe. I liked that a lot. I was delighted to see in the acknowledgements that Aslan is both an environmental academic and that he was inspired by [b:The World Without Us|248787|The World Without Us|Alan Weisman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441986417s/248787.jpg|241063]because I had to read that for APES a while ago and liked it a lot. The concept is also one that I feel is profoundly relevant: what dependence on technology is doing to human survival. A similar concept was suggested by two irritating boys in my high school; they tried to write a dumb movie script about it, and I was temporarily involved, and then it crashed and burned, but anyway, Aslan killed it. I thought the whole scenario was really well thought out. Secondly, this is not an 'after' dystopia, when things have calmed down and become strict or whatever. Instead, it's a 'during' dystopia, which I haven't really seen before. It's about what would happen if a radical change forced society to make some big changes, and quickly. It's messy. It's violent. It's confusing. But there are also moment of joy and discovery. The whole book has such urgency to it, and there's a lot of power in that. The selection of Hawai'i as a setting was also phenomenal in this respect. Firstly, the particular logics of what it means to be so isolated are thoroughly explored (and ngl it made me think about the smallish island on the edge of the Pacific where I live too). Leilani's identity (she's hapa/biracial) and what that means for Hawai'ian society was also done quite well (bearing in mind that Aslan is white).
Lastly, this book has some paranormal stuff going on, as the blurb may indicate. It's all very weird (and also decidedly a subplot), but I loved how it was incorporated into the story. The mundanity of how the ~stuff that's going on~ combines with the distance and immensity of it was done very well. At the end of the story, it's not really clear why Leilani was the one who could do what she did, but it's just accepted as what happened. There's no chosen one narrative--it's more like 'in the right plae at the right time with the right knowledge' narrative, and I'm so into that.
I often find that some of the really good ~different~ YA books are not able to continue the momentum of the first book in the second one. Regardless, I have this one's sequel on order at the library. Bring it on, Girl at the Centre of the World!
So the first subversion is that the central relationship is not a romantic one, or even a friendship one. It is a relationship between a father a daughter. I loved this so much! LeiLani and her dad do not have a perfect relationship, but they do trust each other unequivocally, and the dynamic that Aslan has written between them is just exquisite. They're jokey sometimes, and comforting, and they lend each other hope, and they would also straight up kill for each other, which is good. They go through a lot together, and they tease each other, and it's just delightful. I love it when children in YA get on well with their parents. This isn't really a quest to save the world (if the world is saved, it's an incidental byproduct) but is instead a mission to reunite as a family.
The second subversion is that this is a dystopia, but not a *normal* dystopia. The subversion comes in two parts: first, the dystopia is not 'oh no we have an unequal and authoritarian society now', but instead an environmental catastrophe. I liked that a lot. I was delighted to see in the acknowledgements that Aslan is both an environmental academic and that he was inspired by [b:The World Without Us|248787|The World Without Us|Alan Weisman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441986417s/248787.jpg|241063]because I had to read that for APES a while ago and liked it a lot. The concept is also one that I feel is profoundly relevant: what dependence on technology is doing to human survival. A similar concept was suggested by two irritating boys in my high school; they tried to write a dumb movie script about it, and I was temporarily involved, and then it crashed and burned, but anyway, Aslan killed it. I thought the whole scenario was really well thought out. Secondly, this is not an 'after' dystopia, when things have calmed down and become strict or whatever. Instead, it's a 'during' dystopia, which I haven't really seen before. It's about what would happen if a radical change forced society to make some big changes, and quickly. It's messy. It's violent. It's confusing. But there are also moment of joy and discovery. The whole book has such urgency to it, and there's a lot of power in that. The selection of Hawai'i as a setting was also phenomenal in this respect. Firstly, the particular logics of what it means to be so isolated are thoroughly explored (and ngl it made me think about the smallish island on the edge of the Pacific where I live too). Leilani's identity (she's hapa/biracial) and what that means for Hawai'ian society was also done quite well (bearing in mind that Aslan is white).
Lastly, this book has some paranormal stuff going on, as the blurb may indicate. It's all very weird (and also decidedly a subplot), but I loved how it was incorporated into the story. The mundanity of how the ~stuff that's going on~ combines with the distance and immensity of it was done very well. At the end of the story, it's not really clear why Leilani was the one who could do what she did, but it's just accepted as what happened. There's no chosen one narrative--it's more like 'in the right plae at the right time with the right knowledge' narrative, and I'm so into that.
I often find that some of the really good ~different~ YA books are not able to continue the momentum of the first book in the second one. Regardless, I have this one's sequel on order at the library. Bring it on, Girl at the Centre of the World!
This book makes you stop and consider the fragility of our existence in this high-tech world and the strength in families, self-reliance, and sustainable practices.
a little too action-y and telling-not-showing for my taste, but I can certainly see why it's getting great reviews. If you like apocalypse stories (DURING the apocalypse, that is, not post-apocalyptic) this is a unique take on the genre and the dad-daughter relationship at the center is great.
http://pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2015/comments_08/islands_at_the_end_of_the_world.html
it's not exactly what I expected - a bit younger and more about the action of moving around than figuring out what's happening to and in the world. I appreciated the characters and you learn quite a lot about Hawaii. I think it would make a great audio book, as some of the Hawaiian chants and sayings occur during quick moving plot points. I had to force myself to stop and read the Hawaiian, which I believe is part of the novel's magic. I'm surprised that there's a sequel, since the ending felt like a natural stopping point to me.